the story of us [dean portman 2]

𝗧𝗘𝗡. 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗡

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗘𝗡: 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗡

     CLANKING sounds came from hangers as Sophie sifted through the different shirts on the rack. She was having a difficult time finding articles of clothing that she thought looked cute but that she also liked on her body. She found plenty of stuff that she thought was nice, but she hated the way she looked in it. Scooter was a few feet away from the girl also looking through the racks of clothes. Over his arm lay a few different items that Sophie had liked.

She knew that she couldn't get a lot of new clothes, especially with her budget, but Sophie was determined to find clothes to add to her wardrobe that would help her blend in better at Eden Hall and not stick out like a sore thumb like she had been. She knew that it was the first step in getting accepted by the student population of the school.

Kenny's words from the day prior still floated around her mind as she tried to think of ways to get people to like her. She wanted to avoid going back to how it was in her early childhood when no one wanted to be her friend. The only friend she had for several years was her brother and it was difficult for her to find anyone that liked her. Only when she started changing herself did the other kids want to do anything with her and that's how Sophie learned at the age of eight that being herself wasn't enough. She had to be a different version of herself for the different people in her life.

When she was around the team as a whole, she was the one who took care of everyone. The one who made sure they functioned and got where they needed to go on time. When she was around Julie or Connie, she was the perfect girl friend who listened to their problems and gave advice they all knew would probably be ignored. The one who always knew what colors looked good on the two and helped them when they asked for it. Around Charlie she had always tried to be his right-hand man and help him with whatever was needed for the team. Around Averman, Luis, Goldberg, and Russ she did everything she could to joke around them. Around Dwayne she had always been the supportive friend who explained things to him and reminded him it was okay that he didn't get every reference that the rest of the team made.

Around Fulton and Kenny, it was different. They knew practically everything about her, but she always did everything in her power to put them first out of fear that they would one day decide they didn't want to be around her anymore.

Around her father, Sophie had always attempted to be the perfect daughter. Despite the perfect attendance, getting the best grades she could realistically get, and doing as many extra curriculars as he approved of, the girl hadn't quite mastered this side of her ever.

She wasn't even sure who she really was when she was alone anymore. She liked to think that she was a little bit of all of her different personalities, but she didn't know for sure. The only person she didn't feel like she put a front up for was Dean. She had never thought that he wouldn't be in her life. Even when they were just friends, she thought they would always be on good terms even if they were in different states. She would have never imagined they would end like they did.

It was similar with Scooter but not exactly the same. It was still so early into knowing the boy that Sophie went out of her way to put thought into everything she said or did around him. The last thing she wanted was for him to get tired of her or to grow annoyed with her. That was one of the reasons she was so anxious as they searched through the racks of the store they were in.

"You would look nice in this," Scooter said as he held up a hanger that hung a pleated skirt.

Sophie turned to look at the skirt and smiled at Scooter's grin as he held it in front of his own waist. He then held it out in front of her waist and nodded in agreement with his previous statement.